In brief: Franchitti earns first Infineon win
Auto racing: Dario Franchitti finally won at Infineon Raceway, leading from start to finish to capture his first Sonoma (Calif.) Grand Prix on Sunday in the final road course race of the year.
Franchitti took the pole and led all 75 laps, topping runner-up and new points leader Ryan Briscoe on the way to his fourth victory of the year. Franchitti and Briscoe avoided a multiple-car crash early in Lap 1 on the tough 12-turn, 2.303-mile road course. Scott Dixon, the points leader coming in, finished a disappointing 13th after stalling in the wreck. He fell into third place in the points race with three races remaining.
Franchitti, the Scot who moved into second in points at 493 and four points behind Briscoe, became the first flag-to-flag winner in an IndyCar race since Dixon did so in 2003 at Richmond.
•Power still hospitalized: Will Power of Team Penske was still being evaluated at a hospital Sunday, a day after breaking two vertebrae in his lower back and suffering a concussion during a crash in practice for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma.
•Barrichello ends drought: Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello won the European Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain, to claim his first Formula One victory in five years. The 37-year-old Brazilian took advantage of a costly pit-stop error by Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren team to record his 10th career win.
•Massa headed to U.S. Formula One driver Felipe Massa will travel to the United States on Friday to undergo tests with a doctor renowned for treating injured race car drivers. Massa, recovering from life-threatening injuries from a crash in his Ferrari at the Hungarian Grand Prix nearly a month ago, said Sunday he will go to Miami to meet Dr. Steve Olvey, a former medical director for CART and a specialist in racing injuries.
•Tasca tops Neff: Bob Tasca took his second Funny Car title of the season, beating Mike Neff with a pass of 4.23 seconds at the rain-delayed NHRA Toyo Tires Nationals in Mohnton, Pa. Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Jeg Coughlin (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won their categories.
Dementieva tuned up for U.S. Open
Tennis: Elena Dementieva’s U.S. Open tuneup was an overwhelming success.
The No. 4 seed overcame an ugly first set to beat Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the Rogers Cup in Toronto. Dementieva’s steady play was too much for an error-prone Sharapova to handle in the first all-Russian final in tournament history.
•Federer in form: Roger Federer played up to his No. 1 ranking, beating Novak Djokovic 6-1, 7-5 in Mason, Ohio, for the Cincinnati Masters title and plenty of confidence heading into the U.S. Open, which he has won each of the past five years.
•Cash defends title: Pat Cash of Australia defeated Jim Courier 6-3, 6-4 to defend his singles title at the Hall of Fame Champions Cup in Newport, R.I. It was Cash’s second career victory on the Outback Champions Series, the global tennis circuit for tennis players age 30 and over.
Mercer Island team still winless
Little League World Series: Urbandale, Iowa, rallied from an early deficit with a five-run fifth inning highlighted by Jake Quirk’s three-run homer to defeat Mercer Island, Wash., 5-3 in South Williamsport, Pa. Aidan Plummer tripled and scored twice to lead winless Washington.
•San Antonio rolls: Nicholas Smisek hit a grand slam and Steven Cardone added a three-run homer to help San Antonio, Texas, score 12 runs in the third inning and beat Russellville, Ky., 12-0. The game ended after four innings because of the 10-run rule.
•Peabody pounded: Luke Ramirez struck out 11 and Andy Rios hit two two-run homers in a 12-run sixth inning that led Chula Vista, Calif., past Peabody, Mass., 14-0.
Ravens rookie arrested
Miscellany: Baltimore Ravens undrafted rookie linebacker Tony Fein was arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer at a Baltimore restaurant, authorities said.
Fein was eating dinner at Johnny Rockets in the Inner Harbor when a security officer thought he saw him pass a handgun to one of his friends, said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. It turned out to be a cell phone.
When police questioned Fein, 27, he became belligerent and shoved the officer, Guglielmi said. Sgt. Joseph Donato was knocked to the ground and had an injured elbow, a police report said.
•Brazil defends volleyball title: Olympic gold medalists Brazil defeated Japan in four sets to defend the World Grand Prix women’s volleyball title in Tokyo.
The powerful Brazilians won 25-21, 25-27, 25-19, 25-19. The victory gives Brazil its eighth championship since the annual tournament began in 1993.